Boy Scout Rescue

I saw this on a mailing list the other day and thought I would share it as its a good story of Scouting in Action...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The Boy Scout who was involved in the rescue of a man who had slipped and fallen into the frigid waters of the basin at Waterplace Park and nearly drowned Tuesday night has been identified as Nick Fleming, an 18-year-old senior at Classical High School.

Fleming, who was one of three bystanders credited with rescuing the man, said he had been walking from a scout meeting at Central Congregational Church on the East Side on his way to Providence Place mall, when he saw two other bystanders, Pete Rogers, 37, of The Waterplace in Providence, and John Condon, 53, of Marlborough, Mass., struggling to pull the man out of the water. With Fleming's help, they pulled the man onto the icy boat dock.

"He was waterlogged and soaked and not moving his feet," Fleming recounted. "When I originally saw him, I panicked for a split second. Luckily my training kicked in and then my instincts. We pulled off his shirt and jacket and then I covered him with my sweatshirt and jacket and administered first aid for hypothermia."

Fleming, who has been a member of Troop 28 in Providence since 2003, is a senior patrol leader with the troop and has received at least three religious scouting awards including the Ad Altare Dei given by the state's Roman Catholic bishop. He is also in the theater program at Classical, helping to build sets and oversee the technical aspects of the school's upcoming play "The Day John Lennon Was Shot."

A son of Elliot and Joan Fleming of Doyle Avenue, Nick was at Classical High School late Friday afternoon helping the drama group build sets and to over see the technical aspects of the school's upcoming play "The Day John Lennon Was Shot."

"I'm very proud of him," said his mother. "I'm glad he was able to overcome any nervousness and to offer assistance to that man."

The police and fire officials have not released the identity of the man who nearly drowned, and his condition could not be determined.